Nazareth (band)
*heavy metal }} | years_active = 1968–present | label = | associated_acts = | website = | current_members = Pete Agnew Jimmy Murrison Lee Agnew Carl Sentance | past_members = Dan McCafferty Darrell Sweet Manny Charlton Zal Cleminson Billy Rankin John Locke Ronnie Leahy Linton Osborne }} Nazareth are a Scottish hard rock band formed in 1968, that had several hits in the United Kingdom, as well as in several other West European countries in the early 1970s, and established an international audience with their 1975 album Hair of the Dog, which featured their hits "Hair of the Dog" and a cover of the ballad "Love Hurts". The band continues to record and tour. Career Nazareth formed in December 1968 in Dunfermline, Scotland, from the remaining members of semi-professional local group The Shadettes (formed in 1961) by vocalist Dan McCafferty, guitarist Manny Charlton (ex Mark V and The Red Hawks), bassist Pete Agnew, and drummer Darrell Sweet. They were inspired by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.Pete Agnew compares Nazareth and Aerosmith with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Nazareth took their name from Nazareth, Pennsylvania, which is cited in the first line of The Band's classic song "The Weight" ("I pulled into Nazareth / Was feelin' about half past dead..."). The band moved to London, England in 1970 and released their eponymous debut album in 1971. After getting some attention with their second album Exercises, released in 1972, Nazareth supported Deep Purple on tour, and issued the Roger Glover-produced Razamanaz, in early 1973. This collection spawned two UK Top Ten hits, "Broken Down Angel" and "Bad Bad Boy". This was followed by Loud 'N' Proud in late 1973, which contained another hit single with a cover of Joni Mitchell's song "This Flight Tonight". Then came another album Rampant, in 1974, that was equally successful although its only single, "Shanghai'd in Shanghai", narrowly missed the British Top 40. A non-album song, again a cover version, this time of Tomorrow's "My White Bicycle", was a UK Top 20 entry in 1975. Hair of the Dog was released in April 1975 and was produced by Manny Charlton, ending Roger Glover's association with the band. The title track of that album (popularly, though incorrectly, known as "Son of a Bitch" due to its hook lyric) became a staple of 1970s rock radio. The American version of the album included a song originally recorded by The Everly Brothers, the melodic Boudleaux Bryant-penned ballad "Love Hurts", that was released as a hit single in the UK and in the US, where it went platinum. The track became the band's only US Top Ten hit. and was also a top 10 hit in nine other countries, reaching number 1 in six of them. The song was on the Norwegian chart for 60 weeks. In 1979, second guitarist Zal Cleminson was added to the line-up, remaining for two albums, No Mean City and Malice in Wonderland, and contributing numerous compositions. Malice in Wonderland contained the single "Holiday". In 1981, they contributed the song "Crazy (A Suitable Case for Treatment)" to the soundtrack to the film, Heavy Metal. Various Nazareth line-ups continued to make studio albums and tour throughout the 1980s and 1990s, although their popularity had declined such that some albums no longer received either a UK or a US release. They remained popular in Europe, particularly Germany, where "Dream On" became a hit single. In 1991, Billy Rankin returned to replace Manny Charlton on the No Jive album, remaining with the band until 1994. A tribute came in 1993 when Guns N' Roses covered Nazareth's "Hair of the Dog" on "The Spaghetti Incident?", consolation after they turned down Axl Rose's request for the group to play at his wedding. Rankin departed again in 1994, but with Jimmy Murrison and keyboard player Ronnie Leahy, Nazareth maintained a live following in Europe and the US. Nazareth continued touring after Rankin's departure, with Jimmy Murrison and keyboard player Ronnie Leahy. While on tour in 1999, original drummer Darrell Sweet died at age 51 of a heart attack. He was replaced by bassist Pete Agnew's son Lee for later editions of the band. On 4 August 2006, John Locke, the former keyboardist of the band, died from cancer at the age of 62. In February 2008, The Newz was released on the Hamburg-based label, Edel Entertainment. The release of the album coincided with Nazareth's fortieth anniversary tour, which started on 25 January in Sweden and visited most of Europe, finished on 4 November 2008 in Norway. A follow up album, Big Dogz, was released on 15 April 2011. Nazareth announced McCafferty's retirement from the band due to ill health on 28 August 2013, leaving Pete Agnew as the sole remaining original member of the band. On 22 February 2014, it was announced that Scottish singer Linton Osborne was chosen as McCafferty's replacement, with the former singer's blessing. In December 2014, Nazareth announced the cancellation of several shows, and later postponement of their UK tour, due to Osborne contracting a virus that left him unable to perform. In a post on his Facebook page 16 January 2015, Osborne announced his departure from the band. On 13 February 2015, the band announced that Carl Sentance, formerly of Persian Risk, Geezer Butler Band, and Krokus, was their new lead vocalist. Personnel Members ;Current members * Pete Agnew – bass, backing vocals (1968–present) * Jimmy Murrison – guitars (1994–present) * Lee Agnew – drums, backing vocals (1999–present) * Carl Sentance – vocals (2015–present) ;Former members * Dan McCafferty – lead vocals (1968-2013) * Darrell Sweet – drums, occasional backing vocals (1968–1999; died 1999) * Manny Charlton – guitars (1968–1990) * Zal Cleminson – guitars (1978–1980) * Billy Rankin – guitars (1980–1983, 1990–1994) * John Locke – keyboards (1980–1982; died 2006) * Ronnie Leahy – keyboards (1994–2002) * Linton Osborne – lead vocals (2014–2015) Lineups Timeline TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:guitars value:green legend:Guitars id:keyboards value:purple legend:Keyboards id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:studio value:black legend:Studio_albums id:live value:gray(0.85) legend:Live_albums Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:5 start:01/01/1970 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:01/01/1969 LineData = layer: back color:live at:12/16/1981 at:07/28/1991 at:08/01/1998 at:05/22/2001 at:04/23/2002 at:11/18/2003 at:06/01/2004 at:08/01/2007 color:studio at:11/01/1971 at:07/01/1972 at:05/01/1973 at:11/01/1973 at:05/01/1974 at:04/01/1975 at:03/01/1976 at:11/01/1976 at:11/01/1977 at:01/21/1979 at:04/01/1980 at:02/01/1981 at:01/22/1982 at:06/26/1983 at:09/01/1984 at:02/01/1986 at:04/01/1989 at:11/01/1991 at:03/22/1994 at:08/25/1998 at:03/31/2008 at:04/15/2011 at:06/03/2014 at:06/18/2018 BarData = bar:Dan text:Dan McCafferty bar:Linton text:Linton Osborne bar:Carl text:Carl Sentance bar:Manny text:Manny Charlton bar:Zal text:Zal Cleminson bar:Billy text:Billy Rankin bar:Jimmy text:Jimmy Murrison bar:John text:John Locke bar:Ronnie text:Ronnie Leahy bar:Pete text:Pete Agnew bar:Darrell text:Darrell Sweet bar:Lee text:Lee Agnew PlotData= width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) color:vocals bar:Dan from:start till:08/28/2013 bar:Linton from:02/22/2014 till:01/16/2015 bar:Carl from:02/13/2015 till:end color:Bass bar:Pete from:start till:end color:guitars bar:Manny from:12/01/1968 till:05/01/1990 bar:Zal from:09/01/1978 till:07/01/1980 bar:Billy from:07/01/1980 till:06/21/1983 bar:Billy from:12/01/1990 till:12/01/1994 bar:Jimmy from:12/01/1994 till:end color:Drums bar:Darrell from:start till:04/30/1999 bar:Lee from:04/30/1999 till:end color:Keyboards bar:John from:07/01/1980 till:12/01/1982 bar:Ronnie from:12/01/1994 till:12/01/2002 }} Discography See also *Music of Scotland *List of Scottish musicians *List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States *List of performers on Top of the Pops References External links * * Category:Scottish hard rock musical groups Category:Scottish heavy metal musical groups Category:Musical groups established in 1968 Category:Articles which contain graphical timelines